


Into The Woods

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Happy Birthday Derek Hale [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Sterek, Christmas, Christmas Shopping, Fluff, Insecure!Derek, M/M, Magic!Stiles, musical nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 10:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5414066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I loathe you too," he said with a small smile, a bit of pink dusting his cheeks as he chanced a look back at Stiles</p><p>"Maybe loathing will be our always,"</p><p>Derek sighed, shaking his head as he entered the store</p><p>"You went one pop culture reference too far and lost me,"</p><p>"Aww and I was doing so well..."</p><p>Or</p><p>Day 8 of 12 Days Of Sterek includes watching movies and cuddling</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into The Woods

"Well? Did you get it?"

_"One Hollywood phone number, courtesy of sources I cannot name, check your email in ten minutes,"_

"Lydia you are a seriously a goddess,"

_"I know, do you have the other thing?"_

"Not yet, exactly, the aimat-"

Stiles paused, hearing the familiar sound of footsteps coming down the hall and freezing

"Um... call you back Peggy, Cap's on his way,"

_"What? Stiles what does any of that mean?"_

"Later later, bye!" he cried, quickly hanging up just as Derek stepped into the room

"Why did you just rudely hang up on Lydia? And why am I Cap? If anyone is Captain America it's Scott,"

"Well sure if Scott is in the picture,"

"So who are you then?"

"Bucky, duh,"

"Uh-huh..."

"Anyway, did you uh, need something Stevie?"

"I was wondering if you're feeling any better,"

"I think so, I don't feel sore like I have the last few days, I'll see if I can walk," he replied, slowly climbing out of bed and wincing slightly

"Stiles.."

"I'm fine!! It was just one little wince, I SWEAR, I'm fine, it was just a little throb, I'm ok,"

Derek narrowed his eyes, glaring at him skeptically

"Derek... please, we HAVE to finish our Christmas shopping today, Christmas is NEXT WEEK, this is really the last chance we're going to have to go shopping before every single store becomes a jar of pickles 24/7,"

"So? I'm not risking your health over SHOPPING Stiles,"

"It's not a risk! Look you can check on me all day and if I'm in even a LITTLE bit of pain even ONCE we'll come straight home, and when we get home- whenever that is- I promise I'm back on bedrest until tommorrow, ok? Please?"

Derek sighed loudly, shaking his head and looking down

"Why do I let you talk me into things?"

"Yes!" Stiles grinned, fist-pumping the air excitedly despite Derek shaking his head in shame

"BUT I suggest we compare lists first, the less time you spend on your feet the better,"

"Sounds like a good plan, I just have to shop for my dad, Melissa, and Lydia,"

Derek nodded slowly, glancing down

"I have Lydia too, but I also have Scott, Malia, Allison, and Liam,"

"Liam? I thought you took care of Liam,"

"I did, but it turns out his grandmother gave him Christmas money early and he bought the same video game I had bought for him, so now it's back to the drawing board,"

"Ok, well, easy enough, there's a Game Stop not far from here so we can just shwoop in and take care of it, get a new game, and it's part of a strip center so there are other stores there that we can go to,"

Derek nodded slowly, sighing a bit and shaking his head

"Fine, but don't forget our promise Stiles, I mean it,"

"Yeah yeah, I know, I promise,"

Derek wasn't sure how much he believed him, but there wasn't much he could do about it

Stiles was stubborn- beyond stubborn really, there was no arguing with him

 

~+~

 

"Our common enemy here is finding something for Lydia, maybe if we work together we can figure something out," Stiles suggested as he pulled his jacket on

It wasn't actually all that cold out, it was California, it didn't GET cold around here, but Stiles was a naturally cold person so even in sixty degree weather he needed atleast a jacket most of the time

"Well what have you gotten for her before?" Derek asked

"Um... well... for her seventeenth birthday I bought her a TV..."

"A TV?"

"Yeah, last year I got her a necklace with a few diamonds in it.."

"DIAMONDS?"

"Tiny diamonds, barely there, you couldn't even really see them," he shrugged back

"Was this when you were still in love with her?"

"Strangely enough no, they were just freindship diamonds,"

"Freindship diamonds," Derek snorted

"Wouldn't we all like to get freindship diamonds?"

It was no more out of his mouth that he realized Stiles was probably going to take that seriously and he rushed to correct it

"I don't want freindship diamonds, don't get me anything even remotely diamond-y, I'm not interested, just don't," he said quickly

"Aww.." Stiles pouted teasingly as he said goodbye to the dogs and started for the door

"Der, why are you asking me though? I mean I'm stumped too, clearly, don't you have any ideas?"

"Not really, you know Lydia much better than I do, besides you give the best gifts,"

" **I** give the best gifts? Derek you've been giving people college tuition and cars! You paid off my dad's house AND Melissa's, you completely funded the private detective business and didn't even wait for a good excuse like my birthday to do it! You did it just because!"

"Those are EXPENSIVE gifts Stiles, it doesn't necessarily make them good,"

"Um, yeah, a mortgage is by definition a good gift, where do you even... how do you even have the money to do this? I thought your money was all invested in the loft," he mentioned as he got into the car

Derek was driving- for now atleast- since he didn't want any extra pressure on Stiles' ankle

It was overprotective to the highest of extremes in Stiles' opinion... but he also thought it was kind of cute...

"Not all of it, not even most of it,"

"But Scott said-"

"I told Scott that my money was in the loft, I didn't tell him ALL of it was invested in that building, just some of it," he shrugged back, starting the car up

"So.... where's the rest of it?"

Honestly, at this point, Stiles wasn't even trying to be subtle

"In different places, some of it is tied up in things like CDs and savings programs, some of it is invested in other buildings so I'm actively making money, some of it is at the house for emergencies hidden under the floor and .. I do actually have a bank account you know,"

Stiles blinked, staring at him in total and complete surprise, he had no idea that Derek was that.. capable...

"Wow... you're... you're really smart man..."

"Surprised?"

"A little... I mean, not that you're smart but that you're THAT smart I mean... you probably do your own taxes or something... do you even pay taxes?"

"It's fine Stiles, really, I mean.. when people look at me they don't usually see me for my brain you know?"

And that just... that HURT....

That hurt so much in all the right places

The thought suddenly hitting him like a ton of bricks that people never told Derek how smart he was, and that he probably didn't even believe he was at all crushed him and the memory of all the people who had used this man's body against him...

Hell even Stiles wasn't innocent of that...

He felt sick all of a sudden

Chest pains, sick to his stomach, wanting to cry kind of sick, and as soon as he felt the car park he leaned over and tossed his arms tightly around Derek, as tightly as he could, hugging and not wanting to let go, not wanting to let him get hurt again

"I do," he breathed

"Derek I do, I see you like that, you're so smart Derek, God, you are SO smart, I know I don't act like it but you are and I'm going to start treating you like it I swear,"

Derek was utterly silent and still, stunned and not knowing what to do or say

"It's ok Stiles, really, it's ok-"

"No! No it isn't Derek! It isn't ok that people keep treating you like a peice of meat! It isn't ok that people keep thinking of you that way either! I mean.. God, so what if you're pretty? So what if you're the most gorgeous thing to ever breathe? So what if you give John Stamos and Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsowrth and all those other Hollywood guys a serious run for for their money? You're beautifull, but your beauty isn't the best or most important thing about you! You are SO much more than that Derek and you deserve to be treated like it!"

Derek looked like he was hoking down all of his emotions and everything he wanted to say- or.. trying anyway

"You... you really think that about me?"

"I KNOW all of that about you, you are so, so amazing Derek and I'm SORRY that no one understands it or appreciates it or will admit to it because Derek, you deserve to know it, you deserve to be treated the best and given all the best things in life,"

Derek was quiet for a long, long moment before simply wrapping his arms around Stiles and hugging just as tightly

_"Thank you,"_

"Ofcourse Derek..." Stiles breathed, clutching at the back of his shirt and hugging him tighter

"Ofcourse,"

 

~+~

 

The good news was that it was actually extremely easy finding a replacement game for Liam, from there they headed straight towards a boutique that they had been hoping to find something at for Malia or Allison- no such luck unfortunately

The bad news was that attempting a "high end" boutique for Lydia had turned out... well... not so badly actually...

"Oh my God.. twenty bucks for this tiny thing?" Stiles cringed as he held up a very simple bracelet with an L charm on it

"You should see the ear rings, they'll give you a stroke,"

"I don't doubt it..."

"Is it just me, or is this place asking too much for too little?"

Stiles grinned, giving a quick nod

"Couldn't agree with you more, there's a Hallmark next door, maybe that's a better option," he suggested, gasping suddenly wen he glanced over and spied a plate of free cookies

"COOKIES!! Derek look!"

"Hallmark is the king of asking for too much for too little... and yes Stiles, I noticed that," he teased

"Oh God look Derek they have lemonade too," the spark groaned, stuffing a cookie in his mouth and eagerly grabbing a small plastic cup to fill up with lemonade

"I see that too,"

"Want some?"

He shook his head, glancing around the unusually busy story to make sure that no one was giving him dirty looks before grabbing a cookie for himself

"Let's get out of here before they charge us for breathing," he teased

"Right behind you," Stiles grinned, heading for the door and bowing dramatically as he opened the door for Derek

The werewolf just smirked, stepping out and bowing for Stiles just as theatrically

"There's about thirty minutes that we won't get back," he sighed

"Nah, the way I look at it we got ourselves a free snack for the road," Stiles smirked

"Yeah, I'm sure they're in there thinking right now 'Well there went another pair that were just in it for the food',"

"Pfft, no, they saw us coming in and the first thing they thought was 'Oh God here come the gulls',"

Derek actually laughed at that, choking slightly on his cookie

"Nice,"

"Thanks," Stiles snickered

"So where do we go from here?"

"Mmm... there's a home goods store right across the parkinglot, maybe I can find something for Melissa in there..."

"Worth a shot," Derek agreed, heading for the car without a second thought

_"Celebrated heads of state, and specially great communicators_  
Did they have brains or knowledge?  
Don't make me laugh! They were popular! You're gonna be pop-" 

"Ah hang on, it's Lydia.."

"Now THAT one makes sense,"

Stiles snickered, answering the phone quickly

"Yo! Lyds, how's it going?"

_"Are you with Derek?"_

"Um... yeah?"

_"Can he hear us?"_

Stiles glanced over his shoulder and Derek gave a tight nod

"Um... yeah.. hang on.." he muttered, making a splitting motion with his hand as Derek shrugged

"I'm going to the car, join me when you're done,"

"Right... right I can do that," he agreed, giving him a shy thumb's up as he walked off and then sighing as he turned his conversation back to Lydia

"Yeah? What is it?"

_"I spoke with my freind Amy, she said your ... plan, is a-go,"_

"Oh... oh my God really? Seriously?"

_"Yes, absolutely, don't fist-pump in public,"_

Stiles grumbled about that, wrinklnig his nose, although she did have a point, probably, maybe...

"Ok ok so.. so now what?"

_"Now we come up with a plan, you can't just pull this up on your phone like an unorganized moron, you have to present it perfectly,"_

Stiles sighed, shoulders heaving

"You're gonna make me popular?"

_"Excuse me?"_

"Nothing nothing... what did you have in mind?"

 

~+~

 

"So what did Galinda want?"

"Oh just... talking about some Christmas pla-. .. you said Galinda,"

Derek paused, raising an eyebrow and glancing over at the other male

"Um... yes?"

A grin split across Stiles' face and he dramatically clutched at his chest

"Oh my God... you know Wicked! Only a real Wicked fan still calls her Galinda and not Glinda!!"

"Well duh..."

"How do you know Wicked!?"

"Laura and I went to see the show once in New York, it was... she wanted to do it for Valentine's Day, 'to make us less lonely let's go see a show about the greatest tragic love story of all time',"

Stiles barked out a laugh, grinning brightly

"Oh God PLEASE tell me she meant Gelphie!"

"I assume that refers to Elphaba and Galinda? Yes, 'move over Romeo and Juliet, you were never this romantic', she said,"

"Romeo and Juliet was never that romantic anyway, no no, these two are where it's at!"

"Did you ever see it?"

"Huh?" Stiles asked, taken aback for a moment

"The show, did you ever see it?"

"Oh ah... no...Beacon Hills doesn't exactly have a thriving theater culture and I could technically watch it online but the same feeling just wouldn't be there, so..."

"So how do you know about it then? The books?" Derek guessed

"Oh GOD no, I'm not ever reading those books, I mean I'm sure they're good and I know they're shippy, 'hold tight my sweet' _ugh_ , but... I cannot live in a world where Elphaba Thropp is actually dead, ok? Nope, can't do it, I mean to be honest the only thing I really like that much about Wicked is Elphie and Galinda anyway, I know there's this big political thing that everyone is supposed to be focused on and all these social messages and stuff and that's great and all but... jeez... I get enough of that in the rest of my life you know? Can I just not have politics in my free time please? And I was never an Oz fan really, way more of an Enchanted Forest kinda guy if we're talking fairytale- or almost fairytale- universes, so I ended up hearing 'What Is This Feeling?' online and then I listened to 'Defying Gravity' and then 'One Short Day' and 'Popular' and I was HOOKED and I read about the entire musical, the entire book, thought the ending just sucked like nothing else, like Dobby dieing kind of sucks, and I mean... I know the story is great and everything but honestly just leave that at the door, give me my love story about bisexual witches going against the man and slaying with floofy dresses and silly hats,"

By the time Stiles finished his rant and risked a glance over at Derek he was expecting plenty of things

Annoyance, disgust, boredom...

But....

Not the fond amusement resting over his face, like he was utterly enthralled with everything Stiles was saying

"Um... what?"

"Nothing nothing just.... you remind me of Laura, she said the same things, she marched out of the theater almost screaming about it... I still have her One Short Day snowglobe,"

"Oh..." Stiles mumbled, swallowing tightly and squirming a little

Derek never talked about his family and especially not with such ... bittersweetness...

It was sobering and a little sickening remembering what he had lost all of a sudden

Derek must of sensed that Stiles wasn't sure where to go from there, because the next thing that came out of his mouth was... unexpected, to say the least

"What is this feeling, so sudden and new?"

He didn't sing it, not exactly, more like.. quietly muttered

But Stiles grinned all the same

"I felt the moment, I laid eyes on you," he snickered

"My pulse is rushing,"

"My head is reeling,"

"My face is flushing,"

"What is this feeling?"

Stiles risked a glance at Derek and felt his heart jump

He was smiling- really, sincerely smiling

It wasn't bittersweet, it wasn't forced or pained it was just.... amused... happy, and that made Stiles happier than anything else

"Fervid as a flame, does it have a name?"

"YeeeeEESSSSS!!!"

Derek gave him a flat look, starting to laugh slightly

"Loathing!" he grinned

"Unadulterated loathing!" Stiles laughed

"For your face, your voice, your clothing,"

"Let's just say, I loathe it all!"

At this point Stiles was full out cackling and Derek was trying pretty valiantly to keep from making a sound but his snickers were getting louder and louder with each passing second

"Wait wait, you've gotta do Galinda's 'these things are sent to try us', PLEASE Derek it's all I want for Christmas!!" he shouted

"No way, my voice can't even go half that high! And why do I automatically get Galinda's part anyway?"

"Because you started it and you started it with her part," Stiles snorted

"Let's hear you do it then,"

"My voice can't go that high either," he huffed, feeling a bit.. melancholy wen he saw that they had parked

"Oh yes it can, it can go that high for sure," Derek insisted

Stiles huffed, getting out of the car and shaking his head

"Can't do it,"

Derek clicked his tongue, shrugging as he too slipped out of the car

"Alright, and here I was going to do the ensemble chorus for you if you did," he teased

Stiles' mouth fell open and he ran to catch up to the werewolf

"Wait a second wait a second, I'll do it! I'll share your loathing!"

"Too late, you missed your chance,"

"Ohh I loathe you.."

Derek put a hand over his mouth, looking away in an attempt to muffle his laughter, wich kind of broke Stiles' heart, Derek should never have to act like he wasn't laughing...

"I loathe you too," he said with a small smile, a bit of pink dusting his cheeks as he chanced a look back at Stiles

"Maybe loathing will be our always,"

Derek sighed, shaking his head as he entered the store

"You went one pop culture reference too far and lost me,"

"Aww and I was doing so well..."

 

~+~

 

"Oh God look Derek! Look!" Stiles cried, racing over to a rack of scarves and jumping excitedly as he pulled down an emerald green scarf and a bubblegum pink scarf

"Pink goes well with green," he beamed

"Stiles it's never cold enough to wear scarves," Derek said with a small smile

"It can get pretty cold! Come on Der, I'll even let you have the green one, you're more Elphaba-ish anyway,"

"Am I?" he teased

"Yeah, you are," he hummed, stepping closer and wrapping the green scarf around Derek's neck before slinging the pink one around his own

"Why Miss Elphaba, look at you, you're beautifull," he crooned

Derek looked his lips, turning red and rubbing the back of his head

"I um... I guess it does get kind of cold in the winter..." he muttered

Stiles beamed, clapping happily but huffing wen his phone went off again

_"So light 'em up up up, so light 'em up up up, so light 'em up up up, I'm on fire!  
So li-"_

"I've gotta.. it's Parrish so it might be about my dad," he muttered, racing towards the farthest side of the boutique to get away from Derek and his werewolf hearing

"That one is just cruel," Derek muttered to himself

"Parrish, how's my favorite firey omen of death?"

_"Lydia wanted me to call and get a few details from you about the you-know-what,"_

Stiles glanced over his shoulder, sighing in releif wen he saw Derek flipping through some books, a sure fire way to get his attention diverted

No pun intended

"You're golden, shoot,"

 

~+~

 

"I'm glad we found these," Derek said with a small sigh as he stared at the pair of hiking boots that he was buying for Malia

He really had been stumped until he saw those...

"Yeah," Stiles mumbled with a labored breath, all sings of his previously high-spirited self completely gone

Derek glanced over his shoulder, frowning worriedly

"Are you ok?"

"Just fine," Stiles muttered back

"Is your ankle hurting you?"

Stiles opened his mouth, predictably to lie, but cringed and just nodded when he saw the look on Derek's face

"Yeah..." he muttered

Derek frowned deeper and took the bag from the cashier, thanking her quietly before taking Stiles' hand

"Come on, we're going home,"

"No way, not yet!"

"Stiles you promised me!"

"Derek all I have left is to get something for my dad, and you just have to get something for Scott- wich honestly is NOT hard, I cannot see where you're having a problem here,"

"Stiles-"

"No! I'm not going through all this and then leaving my dad out Derek!"

Derek sighed heavily, shaking his head slowly

"Then why don't you just tell me what you want for him and let me handle it ok? You can go sit somewhere and get off your ankl-"

"I'm not letting someone else pick out my dad's gift," he insisted with a glare

"You swore to me you wouldn't do this Stiles,"

"Yeah well I didn't anticipate it!"

"Your health is not worth a few gifts,"

"Speak for yourself! You don't think I haven't noticed you obsessing just as badly as I do? Sure you hide it a hell of alot better but I can tell how much you... God Derek if anyone has an excuse NOT to obsess over this it's YOU but you've been doing just that, trying to make everything perfect and.... why do you do that? You've already done so much more than enough, you realize you don't have to buy our affections right?" he snorted teasingly

Derek pursed his lips, a look of hurt flittering across his face, too breif for most to see

Most

Stiles was not most

Stiles swallowed, his heart suddenly sinking

"Oh God... you... that's why you-"

"Let's go," he said quickly, grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the store and towards the car

"Derek wait a second,"

"No, I'm ... no, just... I'll find something for Scott, you stay in the car, wen it comes to your father, just... I'll carry you ok? But I don't want you on that ankle, so just-"

"Forget about my freaking ankle for a second Derek! You think you have to buy your place in this pack don't you? You think you have to prove something to us?"

"Well what else am I good for Stiles? I'm not... I'm not... close to anyone like the rest of you are... I just... I don't want to talk about this," he muttered quickly, putting Malia's shoes in the trunk and shutting the lid

Stiles wasted no time, pressing Derek against the trunk and putting both hands up by his sides to keep him boxed in

"You do NOT have to buy our ANYTHING, you have done SO much for this pack Derek, so much... so what if you don't go to brunch with anyone or no anybody's favorite color? That isn't... those aren't the important things, the important things like being there and being supportive, helping and protecting the pack ... those matter, and you have done those in SPADES,"

Derek looked down, gently pushing Stiles back and heading towards the driver's seat of the car

"You stay in the car wile I get something for Scott and I let you have a piggyback ride shopping for your dad, my final offer, or we're going home,"

Stiles felt a rush of cold hit him, like a cold slap to the face, and he found himself unable to move until Derek had to tell him again

 

~+~

 

Derek bought a mini fridge for Scott's dorm room

Stiles gave him a thirty minute lecture on exactly why Derek is important to the pack and he should never ever feel like he had to buy anything for anyone and Derek said that he understood but Stiles was pretty sure he lied

The mini fridge just left a stinging feeling under his skin when he looked at it

Stiles ended up giving in and promising to come back out another day to look for a gift for his father as his ankle was really starting to bother him and he knew that Derek wouldn't let him stay out for too much longer anyway

He felt guilty, more so than he could describe and in more than one way

There was something so ... chilling... about seeing under Derek's skin today

So much more than usual

Something so horribly surreal about seeing this... soft, sweet person who knew Wicked songs by heart and laughed about stupid jokes with him all day so torn down and emotionally abused and neglected that he so honestly believed the only way he deserved to be part of this pack was to spoil everyone rotten to do it, that no one ever told him how smart he was and so some part of him started to see himself as the peice of meat that everyone else saw him as, that he bent over backwards for people he barely knew just because he could and because he thought it was the right thing to do...

It was hard to swallow, wich was the real reason for Stiles wanting to go home early

Later that night after getting home Derek insisted without allowing room for argument that Stiles rest upstairs

He put an ice pack on Stiles' ankle and even cooked dinner and glared at Stiles like he had been personally offended whenever Stiles tried to talk him out of doing something

It was so much more than he needed- than he deserved, but Derek refused to listen and at some point during the evening Stiles stopped trying, it wasn't worth wasting his breath on someone who wouldn't listen to what he had to say no matter what

At some point after dinner Stiles' ankle was finally back to the way it had felt that morning and all of the chores that had been built up were taken care of

By the time all of this happened though it was all into the late evening and they were both kind of exhausted

"Can we watch Christmas movies?"

Now when Stiles said 'Christmas movies', for some odd reason, Derek had been expecting things like 'It's A Wonderfull Life' and 'The Nutcracker', but he ended up instead with Gremlins, a plethora of cartoons from the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas to Rise Of The Guardians, he even brought out tons of various Christmas specials from TV

But none was as surprising as the last one

"Into The Woods?"

"Yep!"

"That isn't even close to being a Christmas movie,"

"No but we saw it on Christmas together lat year so I'm sort of counting it anyway,"

Derek rolled his eyes, because really he should have known

They were both in Derek's bed, were Stiles had been resting since they got home, watching Into The Woods and both feeling themselves drift off to sleep

It was completely accidental

But at two in the morning after such a long, exhausting day neither of them could really help it, and by the time act two was starting, they both were out like a light


End file.
